Mouth of the River
Publication of Oyster River High School
News
Thrifting pg. 5
One-Hour Delay pg. 7
Coffee House pg. 8
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Opinion
Library Books pg.20
Overconsumption pg.23
Sports & Culture
ORHS Wrestling pg.25
It’s a Boy’s World pg. 27
Procastination pg. 13
Local Grub pg. 15
College Prep pg. 17
Maddie Healey pg. 19
School Superlatives pg.29
What’s In Your Bag? pg.32
Music + Productivity pg. 35
Dear Readers,
Thanks for picking up another one of our issues.
This cover was shot by MOR staff members Elise Bacon and Hannah Klarov. The composition highlights a few references to our articles, like Sadie Goldberg’s “It’s Never Too Late to Procrastinate” on pg. 13 and Paige Stehle’s “Do You Know What Your Kids Are Reading?” on pg. 20.
You might also notice the “Columbia Scholastic Press Association” lanyard. MOR attended the 101st annual spring conference at Columbia University to learn about improving our magazine.
Thank you to our sponsors who make MOR possible! We are beyond grateful for your support, which allows us to cover the stories we care about. If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor for our remaining issues this year, reach out to 25nielk@orcsd.org.
If you’re an ORHS student who’s interested in having your voice heard in MOR, reach out to skelly@orcsd.org.
Hasta luego,
Kevin Kell and Amelia Rury
Mouth of the River Mission Statement
Mouth of the River seeks to reliably inform the student body, as well as the surrounding community, of interesting and newsworthy content in a modern, compelling format. Our goal as a staff is to give voice to the students of Oyster River, and have it heard by all our students. The opinions expressed in Mouth of the River represent those of the writers and staff.
Meet the Staff
Curated by Annie Graff
“If MOR staff were countries what would they be?”
Byline Photos by Elise Bacon
Kevin Kell (he/him) (‘25)
Co-Editor in Chief
Kevin is like America: he might be problematic, but he smiles a lot. Oddly, I feel like he really likes oil and crypto as well.
Amelia Rury (she/her) (‘25)
Co-Editor in Chief
If Amelia was a country, she would be Italy, because I have never met someone that talks about pasta quite as much as she does. She’s having a pasta themed birthday party. Strega Nona.
Although I don’t think Olivia would handle the sun very well, she’s Australia. Not for any cultural reason, I just don’t think she’s capable of feeling fear. She would see a snake in her toilet and flush it.
When I picture Bella, I picture Greenland. Small, keeps to themselves, but if you look closer, they actually have everything going much better for them than anyone else.
IRELAND RAHHHH GINGERS REPRESENT.
Sadie is just like Canada. She’s always either smiling, apologizing for something that she really doesn’t have to say sorry for, or laughing at someone’s joke.
Hannah is somewhere cold and harsh but there’s still a lot of wildlife. Somewhere like Antarctica--almost impossible for a regular person to live there, but they got cool stuff like penguins.
Russia. Kai is evil coded, and I can picture him dressed like a tzar with a Russian pope at his right hand.
Olivia Andersen (she/her) (‘25) Multimedia Editor
Elise Bacon (she/her) (‘26) Social Media and Events Manager
Sadie Goldberg (she/her) (‘26) Features Editor
Bella Jackman (she/her) (‘26) Website Manager
Hannah Klarov (she/her) (‘25) Creative Director
Kai Nield (he/him) (‘25) Marketing Director
Probably somewhere where they think they’re better than everyone else but is also kind of cold and desolate. Maybe Finland or Denmark
Ian is France because he’s always instigating. Vive la revolution.
Greece so he can look profound and write in prose as much as he pleases. Ancient Greek Ulysses would stay posted up at the Parthenon all day every day.
England. There’s just something about Jahrie that tells me she would love it if there was a designated teatime every day. More specifically, she would have one of those posh accents like Hermione Granger.
Paige is Germany. She’s not mean, but if you’re doing something stupid, trust she will let you know. On the other hand, if you’re doing something right, she’ll also let you know. Either way, she isn’t sugarcoating any of her editing comments for you.
Ian Hilfiker (he/him) (‘25) Archive Manager
Jahrie Houle (she/her) (‘26) Opinion Editor
Annie Graff (she/her) (‘26) Layout Editor
Ulysses Smith (he/him) (‘25) Sports & Culture Editor
Paige Stehle (she/her) (‘25) News Editor
Thrifting is Shifting
Thrifting is becoming less accessible. Here’s why.
written by ULYSSES SMITH visuals courtesy of ORSON WOODALL
Afew years ago, when I was exploring Beverly Bootstraps (a thrift shop in Beverly, Massachusetts) with my friends, I was introduced to what would soon become one of my favorite underground shoe brands: Feiyue. Priced at just $15, these kicks were both affordable and alternative, exactly the type of item thrift shoppers hope to find.
I visited the Bootstraps again last weekend, and despite rising prices in some stores, their prices remained low. I bought a pair of wide-leg green corduroys for just $8. But even so, thrift-
ing isn’t what it used to be. Prices are creeping up, and the landscape of secondhand shopping is changing.
Historically, thrift stores have provided an affordable way to buy secondhand clothes while reducing waste. They allowed those who couldn’t afford high-end fashion to express themselves and contributed to sustainability by slowing down fast fashion. However, as demand for secondhand clothing grows, some thrift stores have raised their prices, making secondhand shopping less accessible than before.
Two major forces are driving the rise
in thrift store prices: large-scale reselling and for-profit chains.
Online reselling platforms like Depop have incentivized people to use thrift stores as sourcing grounds for business. Resellers purchase large quantities of affordable items, then mark them up for a profit online. This makes it harder for low-income shoppers to find what they need. At the same time, corporate thrift chains like Savers have transformed secondhand shopping into a high-margin business, pricing donated clothes as if they were luxury goods.
At Oyster River High School (ORHS), some students have joined the reselling trend. Orson Woodall (’25) admits, “I’ll just buy clothes to sell them because I’m broke.” While thrift flipping may seem harmless, reselling on a larger scale can impact availability and pricing of items. As online marketplaces drive up demand, some thrift stores adjust their own prices to compete.
Givanni Macisso (’25) has seen this shift firsthand at the Goodwill Buy the Pound Store & Recycling Center (the Bins), where shoppers search through bulk clothing before it reaches retail stores. With resellers on the lookout for valuable pieces, the competition can be intense. “The people there are a different breed,” he says. “They will push you. They’re only aware of themselves and what they want.”
Reselling isn’t new. ORHS English teacher Shauna Horsley was a self-proclaimed “thrift flipper” back in the ‘90s, when secondhand clothes were a household norm. She remembers stuffing a paper bag full of thrifted items for just $1, then reworking them into new pieces to sell so she could buy concert tickets. “I would make bags and shirts
and corduroys with patches,” she says. Unlike today’s large-scale reselling culture, hers was focused on repurposing clothing rather than maximizing profit. Now, online platforms have popularized thrift reselling, leading to increased competition for sought-after items.
While resellers contribute to rising prices, they’re not the only factor. For-profit chains like Savers have also played a role in the secondhand clothing market. Unlike nonprofit stores like Salvation Army, which reinvests profits into community programs, Savers—whose inventory is donated— marks up its prices to align with retail standards.
I saw this firsthand when my friend Ellis Rodi (’27) and I visited Savers. His brother, Oliver Rodi (’25), immediately found a Golf Wang jacket—an exciting find for a fraction of its original cost. But on the same rack, Ells stumbled upon something surprising: an
“[Thrifting]isliketheprolificactofsifting throughberrybushes.It’slikeananimaldigging throughacarcass,tryingtofindthegoodorgans toeat.”-OrsonWoodall(‘25)
O.J. Simpson jersey priced at $80. At a store that doesn’t pay for its inventory, such pricing raises questions about accessibility and affordability. Moments later, a search online revealed the same jersey selling for just $15 elsewhere.
Thrift store pricing is no longer about affordability, it reflects market competition. And the effects extend beyond local stores.
As thrift stores raise prices, lower-quality, unsellable clothing is increasingly discarded. Instead of being reused, these clothes pile up in landfills—or are shipped in bulk to developing countries, labeled as “charitable donations.”
According to CNN’s article “At one of the world’s largest clothing dumps, textiles are getting a new lease of life,” approximately 15 million garments arrive in Ghana weekly—most of them at Kantamanto, a major textile market for imported clothes. About 40% of these clothes will eventually become waste.
The article also notes that much of the clothing arrives in bales that are “mislabeled and filled with items in terrible condition.” Instead of being reused, these garments pollute waterways, harm the environment, and disrupt local economies. The influx of cheap, low-quality clothing makes it difficult for local textile workers and small businesses to compete.
Despite these challenges, there are still places where secondhand shop ping stays true to its roots. Indepen dent stores like the Echo Thrift Shop in Durham—just a twenty-minute walk from ORHS—offer an alternative to corporate thrift chains. These shops focus on curated, sustainable, and affordable fashion, maintaining the thrill of the find without turning secondhand shopping into a high-stakes market. For Woodall, thrifting will always be an adventure. “It’s like the prolific act of sifting through berry bushes,” he says. “It’s like an animal digging through a carcass, trying to find the good organs to eat.”
One-Hour Delay
ORCSD has a new inclement weather option.
writing
and visuals by AMELIA
RURY
eep.Beep.Beep.
Your alarm went off at 6:30 AM on a Wednesday. You groaned and reached for your phone, but when you picked it up, you noticed an email notification. The Oyster River Cooperative School District (ORCSD) would be delaying its start time that morning for one hour. You rolled back over, ready to catch a few more winks of sleep – wait – one hour?
On January 29th, every school in the ORCSD opened one hour late for the first time. The inclement weather option was introduced the night prior. Students, teachers, and their families all had to plan out their changes to the day, leading to some questions about the future of the one-hour delay.
ORCSD superintendent Dr. Robert Shaps had announced the possibility of a one-hour delay option for inclement weather. According to Shaps, “A one-hour delay option provides a realistic time frame to prepare roads, based on the time in early morning hours that plows start work, while still starting school under safe conditions.” He considered the delay to be a compromise between safely operating the schools and saving as much class time for students as possible.
The question floating through many students’ minds was dowereallyneedthatextrahour?
ORHS principal Rebecca Noe explained the rationale, saying, “We used to operate off of 180 school days. Now, it’s actually 990 hours, and so in many years, we don’t have a lot of snow and hit our hours a little bit early. There are years at the end where we’ll be counting them up and worry ‘are we going to hit?’”
The introduction of the one-hour delay added a fifth option to inclement weather situations among a two-hour delay, snow day, remote day, or full day of school. “Now we have all these approaches, along with whether it’s a blue or a white day, and you have to negotiate all of this problem solving to figure out how to be effective that day with whatever change hap-
pens,” said ORHS English teacher Marjke Yatsevitch.
The largest problem noticed among students when arriving to ORHS was the initial absence of Barrington students, whose superintendent had called a two-hour delay for that morning. Shaps said, “In hindsight, I should have provided more information to support Barrington students... I did speak with the Barrington Superintendent in the days following to discuss potential challenges about operating under two start schedules.”
Barrington student Erinn Doherty (‘25) said that, “I think we could have benefitted from another hour because it would give the town more time to make the roads safe.” This feeling wasn’t exclusive to students from Barrington. For many student drivers, this may have been a first experience with inclement weather.
Many ORHS teachers had problems beyond planning out their day in the classroom. Yatsevitch said, “I have an elementary school child outside of Oyster River with a two hour delay, so at 5:00 AM when I got the message immediately it was figuring out what to do to make sure he’s safe in that hour.”
After sending out the one-hour delay schedule to ORHS students, Noe was curious what they had thought about the change. She said, “a lot of students I talked to in the hallway said the delay was great. They got to sleep in and get almost full class time.”
As for any future inclement weather days, Shaps will make the call dependent on what he discusses with the ORCSD Director of Transportation and the local town road agents. “The safety of students and staff is always the most significant factor in determining how we operate,” said Shaps. As it stands, the one-hour delay option is here to stay.
Coffeehouse Behind the Scenes
by ANNIE GRAFF
Annie chronicles the adventures of the January 30th Coffee House.
filmed
IFry Fight
Two bros on a mission to find the Seacoast fry king .
written by KAI NIELD and KEVIN KELL
n early 2021, MOR staff members Emily Hamilton (‘21) and Sadie Hackenberg (‘21) embarked on a journey to find which restaurant served the best french fries. This masterpiece perfectly detailed the area’s deep fry scene. However, just four years later, it’s as if we’re watching a completely different movie. With restaurants closing, new ownerships emerging, and different cooking methods coming about, it’s time we reattack this fiery debate and potentially crown a new fry king.
After our unpleasant experience with Circle K’s burger (see Mouth of the River 2025 Issue 2), we had to go back and try their french fries. For the price of $4.33, we were met with a very unpleasant surprise. We were handed a small basket of raw potato by a somewhat clueless worker. These fries may have been the worst attempt at a “french fry” ever. To begin with, there was no salt or any seasoning at all, which automatically gave them no extra flavor. But the fact that these fries weren’t exactly “fried” really put the starchy potato taste in our mouths. We would most definitely never recommend these fries to anyone, unless you are trying to torture your taste buds. This fry certainly has last place written all over it.
Wendy’s
After trying these fries and their burgers during our burger review, we think it’s safe to say that us and Wendy’s don’t really get along. These fries tasted incredibly below average, lacking in just about every way. It was a little unsettling how un-crispy they were; it was almost to the point that they were one consistency the whole way through. The one thing Wendy’s had going for them here was that it only ran us $3.46, which was the cheapest of the bunch.
JP’s Grill
The JP’s Grill french fry was comparable to the fries at McDonald’s. They had the same golden yellow color while being very well salted. One of the main differences between these two was how JP’s fries were much warmer than McDonald’s. However, JP’s fries cost $4.88 compared to McDonald’s $4.33. Were those extra 55 cents worth it? You could tell JP stole McDonald’s secret formula for this one.
Gas Station
This fry is widely respected across America as a very solid option. We would agree with that. They were salted very well and had a beautiful golden yellow color. The medium size fry cost $4.33, a very typical price for french fries. The service was quick and convenient, which is expected from McDonald’s. Overall, McDonald’s gave us everything we expected out of this fry and a great option for a quick and cheap french fry.
These fries were almost there. Hop + Grind gave us a well-seasoned, good-tasting fry that was great after three or four chews, but the lack of crunch made for an unpleasant first couple bites. This deficiency completely throws off the overall experience of eating the fry. The price was shockingly high at $7.05, but the number of fries somewhat explains this. Instead of a little platter or small pouch, Hop + Grind gave us a massive container packed tight with potatoes. Hop + Grind burgers hold a special place in our hearts, but unfortunately there’s no room for their fries.
Ore-Ida (Frozen)
A wild card... a curveball. Frozen french fries were a domain that was untouched by us prior to tasting. There wasn’t much bad to say about these fries, but there wasn’t anything GREAT about them either. They had a nice crisp that we both enjoyed, and the inside was decently airy. The taste was similar to the classic fist bump, nothing flashy, but definitely does the job. For the price of $4.99 you get a mountain of fries, which is definitely a mountain we’d climb.
Franz’s Food
Wildcat Pizza McDonald’s
These are fries that any self-respecting fry guy would immediately fall in love with. They’re just about everything you could ask for in a french fry: beautifully seasoned, warm in a cozy way, pillowy on the inside, and a crunch to die for. A touch on the pricey side, $5.19, but in this case, Franz made it worth it.
WILDCAT HAS DONE IT AGAIN. The previous winners provided us with an absolute work of art. For the price of $5.64, we were given majestic golden brown crispy french fries sent from the heavens. Let’s just say the workers at Wildcat Pizza did a phenomenal job of putting the fries in the bag. The seasoning on these fries was like no other: they had a very unique taste that neither of us had ever experienced from a french fry. With the pristine crispiness on these fries matched with the fluffy inside, you just can’t go wrong.
After the 2021 fry review gained a lot of popularity, we had to do it again. Once again, Wildcat Pizza took home the crown, making them back-to-back champions. Call them LeWildcat James. See you in four more years.
Hop + Grind
Boycotting the Beauty Standard
Male appearance standards take a toll on guys in the Oyster River High School (ORHS) community.
written by HANNAH KLAROV
visuals courtesy of VARIOUS ORHS STUDENTS
It was 2020 and as the world went into a global COVID-driven lockdown, Henry Miller (‘25) locked in to lose weight. He grew up overweight, and after countless times in which he was treated and thought about differently by his peers, he knew he had to change.
Societal pressures on male appearance can bear some of the expectations that men/boys are supposed to adhere to, especially those at Oyster River High School (ORHS). These standards play a part in approval from girls/women, and approval from peers. Appearing traditionally masculine is also a deeply rooted component in these standards. Some break these standards, but others let it be.
Wanting to change in physical appearance throughout someone’s high school career isn’t uncommon; in fact, it’s encouraged. The modern term for a usually physical change of appearance is called a “glow up” and according to Travis Faul (‘25), there is one thing that drives this desire to change: people always notice.
He states, “For teenage boys, it’s the way that they’re going to appeal to women. There are all these different types of men that women could have, and men try to fit into those types. Oftentimes it has to do with going to the gym and it can affect the way guys look at themselves. A lot of it at this age has to do with impressing peers and trying to conform and not stand out too much.”
Faul put a lot of emphasis on the need to conform, something that many high schoolers struggle with in general, not just with their appearance. Miller’s self esteem was heavily affected when he was younger because of the pressure he got from his peers, to conform to appearance standards.
“It’s uncomfortable to be singled out like that and I definitely say it wasn’t a hostile thing when people are younger, but it’s more just wondering why someone’s different. But as I got a bit older, I definitely got self-conscious,” Miller says. Connecting to what Faul said about measuring someone’s sense of physical attractiveness by the amount or lack of attention they get from women, Miller was also aware of who girls would be paying attention to. Especially since those guys were his friends and fit that specific standard.
Seeing other people have what a guy wants, for example, being looked up to by his peers or the attention of girls, can instill a need to imitate that guy’s style, according to Faul. He recalls, “Throughout my entire life, all of the guys got the same haircut. In middle school it was the spiky hair in the front and then everyone got mullets. Then buzz cuts and long hair. It’s like, if one of their friends is having success with this look, everybody tries to imitate it. Not that that’s even a bad thing, that’s probably just how humans react to things they find interesting.”
Hair is one aspect that many sources brought up, especially in accordance with masculinity versus femininity. Odin Whiteley (‘25), has been looked down upon by the older generation in terms of his longer hair.
He states, “I’ve had the older generation all my life try to disparage me from liking a lot of things that might be considered feminine or whatnot. My dad regularly insults me for my long hair and then jokes that he’s always wanted two daughters.” Whiteley thinks that this may be because the male appearance standards were stricter back then, affecting how the older generation may think about “the traditional masculine look.”
Miller also agreed with Whiteley’s statement and adds that it might be because of the presence of the country’s military body standards. “A lot of guys grow up thinking they should be incredibly low body fat, lots of muscle--a lot of times it’s not even what a girl would want. Not to be propaganda-ish, but our government also can play into it, the ideals they give for men, which is because they want you to serve in the army and the military. Like, especially in the Vietnam era, like telling kids, when you grow up you should want to be a soldier, be strong and go fight.”
A lot of standards for men that focus on the physical also connect to how they “should” be portrayed and what personality traits are the most ideal. Connor Termorshuizen (‘28) noticed that the physical standards often correspond to stereotypical traits of how a man should be like.
“It’s more of a societal norm that people have toward men. They’re supposed to be chivalrous and well presented in society. And it probably goes back to the 1800s where we were supposed to be the man of the house or something, and appearance plays a lot into that,” he states.
These standards are unrealistic and barely relevant in today’s world, according to Miller. Faul backs up this notion and recalls his own experience with his hair. “I definitely have gotten comments about how I have long hair and that it’s feminine. Often it can be outlooked as a feminine appearance to have long hair rather than clean shaven and clean cut hair.”
Whiteley adds on with the division with the traditionally feminine and masculine look and he states, “I think [the standards] focus on similar things. You’ve got physique, you’ve got the way people dress up, so the outcome is different, but I feel like it’s very similar in nature. Physique wise, guys are expected to go to the gym and have muscles, women are expected to be slim. Guys aren’t expected to wear makeup, but they are expected to have clear faces.”
Many of these standards, or at least whether people conform to them, come from everyday media according to Levi Clapp (‘27). He says, “I think the Internet can be a bad thing in that
sense, where a lot of people get notions that it’s a bad thing to be different in that way, and which is another reason why it’s good for the people to be out there, that they’re breaking that.”
Faul backs this up, concluding that the media could help by breaking up the standards and allowing more room for difference. “I feel like when I was like pretty young, in especially older media, there’s always stuff about going over things like shaving and like a lot of physical appearance aspects that people don’t really think about as much, but like if you really dig deep into them, these are things that like are ingrained in guys. But over the years, for both men and women, there’s been like a lot of progress on going away from those ideals and maybe allowing people to present themselves differently.”
Termorshuizen has seen people improve their appearance and choose whether the best way for them to be better looking is to adhere to the standards or do their own thing. He says, “I think I’ve seen a little bit of both. I’ve seen it where they definitely are more masculine, like they dress and act more powerful and wear nice clothes, but there’s people who find their own thing to do and they find their own beliefs in that.” The overwhelming majority of the glow-ups Termorshuizen has seen were still based on appealing to the male appearance standards.
Should men be appealing to these standards? And those who do, are they wrong for feeding into them?
Peer pressure is a strong component in both pushing appearance standards and in high school in general. A lot of the world for teenage boys right now is only school, family, and social media, meaning that the community that is grown in those places is extremely influential in how they view themselves.
This is especially important when the majority of the sources interviewed said they aren’t happy with what they see in the mirror.
It’s Never too Late to Procrastinate
A guide to understanding and battling procrastination.
writing
and
visuals by SADIE GOLDBERG
’m aware of how ironic it is that I procrastinated my procrastination article.
At first, I laughed at the irony, but in the weeks since then, it’s become less funny. As I use the minutes after completing my AP Biology test to stress over this, I’m seriously regretting my made-up excuses for not starting it earlier.
Moments like these make me madder at myself than I’d like to admit— because procrastination has been something I’ve been working so hard to avoid. Along my journey of attempting to fix those tendencies, I’ve read many articles like Holly Reid’s 2019 Mouth of the River (MOR) article en-
Why Context Matters, from the National Library of Medicine states that, “procrastination is associated with higher stress, use of less adaptive coping strategies, poor health behaviors, poor quality sleep, poor self-rated health, and a greater number of physical illnesses and symptoms.”
I could have figured out for myself that procrastination gives me a higher level of stress, but the fact that it’s scientifically proven to make people sick shocked me. Even with all that, according to Piers Steel, author of The Procrastination Equation, 95% of people admit to avoiding and putting off work. So why do we go against our best interests?
about procrastination in general. Little did I know, I was actually using a combination of the two major ways I eventually found to combat procrastination. They contradict each other slightly, but in this case, they ended up working well together. By taking a baby step, I was taking away that feeling of overwhelm that was so consistently prevalent when I thought about facing the issue, and by learning more about my procrastination, I was making myself more interested in it which made it more fun for myself.
Those two ideas seem to encompass every hack I’ve found, and by understanding them, coming up with unique ideas for specific situations has become
Unfortunately,wecan’tjustignorewhat’simportantif we don’t want to do it.
titled I’ll do it later. But despite having learned so many solutions, I’m still in the same place.
And so, I’ve been stuck on this question: what might give me the motivation to fix this? The answer seems to be simpler than I realized. I skipped a key step in fixing any problem: understanding the root of the issue.
Will understanding why I procrastinate solve the problem once and for all? Probably not. But I’m hoping it might help me take the steps I need to start actually doing something about it.
So why do we procrastinate?
The negative connotation that comes with procrastination isn’t just because of the annoyance of scrambling to catch up, but also a plethora of other issues. An article entitled, Procrastination and Stress: A Conceptual Review of
An article from ScienceDirect entitled, Understanding procrastination: A motivational approach, suggests that we might go against what we know is best for us when we “pursue goals that are not in line with [our] personal values and basic needs.”
This is an incredibly important piece in understanding procrastination as a whole. Of course I don’t want to do something that makes me uncomfortable. If I did want to do it, I would have done it already.
Unfortunately, we can’t just ignore what’s important if we don’t want to do it. So, the focus falls to making ourselves want to do it. We need motivation, the kind I needed to start working on fixing my procrastination.
Even before I did any research, my approach was to just start by taking a baby step, which was to learn more
much easier. And so, I present to you the findings of my research and personal experience—starting with the epiphany that there are two reasons people procrastinate: boredom and overwhelm.
Overcoming boredom - making the task more fun
Luckily, this is perhaps the easier of the two to fix, and it’s super simple to tailor to your own interests and needs. The best solutions I’ve found to task boredom also happen to be the most straightforward.
When on a time crunch, purposely racing the clock works great to finish a task as quickly as possible. I love picking an amount of time I think you can complete a task in, but for those of you with a competitive side, racing a friend could be super fun.
While it may not be for everyone, I love romanticizing studying when I have a little more time on my hands. On lower energy days, just throwing on a recent favorite playlist is enough to set the mood, but on other days, I enjoy getting into comfy PJs, making my desk extra neat, getting a tall glass of water or lowering the lights. I just have to be careful not to let the set up turn into yet another way to procrastinate.
Mindless tasks are some of my favorites to get out of the way, simply because I know that I can always occupy my brain with something else entirely while I’m doing them. I’ll usually use the time I’m working to catch up with friends or family over the phone, but if I’m craving some time alone, I love turning on an audiobook or podcast, or even a show or a movie if the task doesn’t require my full focus.
And of course, there’s the tactic I used to start this article: making the task matter to you, either with the topic, or with the importance of getting it done.
Overcoming overwhelm - making the task easier
When I’m overwhelmed, making even a simple decision can feel impossible, so instead of the situation specific list I compiled for the last section, I created a step-by-step list to follow for this one.
The first step I always take is to make sure I’m not taking on more than the bare minimum of a task to start. I try and make it as simple as possible myself. After all, I can always take on more later.
Then I look at what parts I can ask for help on, either from a teacher, parent, friend or the internet. Although it can be scary at first, it’s been helpful not just to make my work easier, but also to get me out of my comfort zone a little.
Next, I break my task into smaller parts. I’ve noticed that teachers happen to give us smaller deadlines along the way to a larger project, which makes me think that they know that this is a way to help combat procrastination. When my teachers don’t do this, I try and practice what my advisor calls backwards planning skills, which involve looking at a calendar and marking down the due date to work backwards and decide when to finish each part of a project.
And not only can you break projects up by task, but also by time. I like to use the Pomodoro method, 25 minutes of work with a 5-minute break, until I’m done with a task.
If 25 minutes feels like too much to start, an article from the Harvard Business Review called 5 Research-Based Strategies for Overcoming Procrastination, says that it can be helpful to focus only on the amount of work that feels comfortable. “For example, could you focus on reading for an hour? No, that period of time still seems unpleasant. What about 30 minutes? Shorten the amount of time until you find a period with which you’re no longer resistant to the task — and then do it.”
Procrastination has become so common with students that it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t do it on the regular. Thankfully, as I was typing away in my AP Biology class, I took a break to complain about my article to Isabelle Jenkins (’26). As it turns out, she’s one of the few people I know who isn’t a procrastinator, so I asked to pick her brain about how she stays so disciplined. She told me that she feels exactly the opposite of how I feel as a procrastinator; she feels like she has to get her work done right way or she feels like she can’t relax. She said, “It irritates me to know that things could be getting done but aren’t getting done.”
Her advice is to use rewards. For her, crossing something off of her to do list gives her enough dopamine for her to feel accomplished. However, for larger things like stressful tests, she told me that she has a system. “If I get a 90 or above, I’ll get myself a treat and if it’s a 95 or above I’ll get a different treat.”
Jenkins’ roaring success with her reward system made so much more sense when I reread that article from the National Library of Medicine. It states that, “Indeed, individuals’ academic procrastination tendency was found to be higher for those who reported less intrinsic and more external forms of regulation toward academic tasks.” This means that external regulation, like Jenkins’ rewards system, is proven to develop discipline.
An article from Science of the Mind called Discipline vs. Motivation: Key to Lasting Success, states that “While motivation may seem like the driving force behind success, it often fluctuates and can be unreliable,” which is where discipline comes in. We need as a backbone for motivation, however, it can’t replace motivation entirely. It’s a skill that must be learned. So reward yourself for a job well done when you’ve successfully dodged procrastination.
If you’re anything like me, you might be reading this article in the hopes that it will magically inspire you to get one of those dreaded tasks off your plate. However, I can’t make you stop procrastinating. The good news is that by reading this article you’ve already fought half of the battle by becoming aware of the issue and taking the initiative to work on it.
After you finish reading, I dare you to pick a task you’ve been avoiding, figure out why you’ve been avoiding it, choose a way to get it done, and reward yourself for your accomplishment
The Local Grub
MOR’s guide to local cuisine.
Throughout the Oyster River community, there are a plethora of local stores, restaurants, and small businesses selling their specialty dishes at an often-reasonable price. I realized that oftentimes people don’t take the time to visit these places, in favor of larger more well-known places. This is a guide for people who want to experience the best local food that the community has to offer.
Calef’s Country Store in Barrington has been a beloved staple of the community for over 150 years. While it is a more well-known location, many people only see it for its charming country store aesthetic. What I think more people should consider is their vast cheese selection.
Sourced from local farms with classic old timey flavors, Calef’s cheese is so good that it’s not uncommon to see a bumper sticker promoting it, plastered with the slogan “Got Calef’s Cheese?” (I have one). Andy Tompkins, the general manager at Calef’s, has become well acquainted with the process of purveying cheese. “Farms reach out to us when they have a new flavor or batch they think we’d like.”
With a reputation this great I had a lot of high expectations. I went and purchased their famous “Rat Trap Cheddar,” a cheese aged for 18 months, described as having a “creamy texture and mild taste” by Tompkins.
As the first bite hit my tastebuds,
written by IAN HILFIKER
visuals courtesy of COLIN CARON
I understood why it was so famous. It had a rich and creamy texture, but a sharp taste--the best of both worlds. I had already eaten a fair bit before reviewing the cheese, but I found myself carving off another slice, then another. That might have been the best part of this cheese. It was just so good no matter how much you ate. It almost had a light quality to it, the creaminess combined with the aging process perhaps made the cheese airier than others, allowing for perfect binging conditions.
Calef’s Country Store is a necessary stop when you’re in Barrington. With its laid-back vibes and proud country store traditions, you’re bound to find something you like. But maybe next time you’re there, pick up some cheese. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
The next place on this list has been around for a lot less time than Calef’s staggering century and a half. Dahab falafel company opened just two years ago by owner Asaf “Asi” Asadorian, as part of the Tideline food truck projects.
This restaurant has become well renowned by falafel lovers of the area, serving up a traditional Middle Eastern style falafel, which contrasts the grainier and softer Mediterranean style falafel commonly found in this area. Dahab’s falafel has a more herbal flavor with a stronger consistency, which makes it less likely to crumble while you eat it.
Apart from the excellent falafel,
Dahab has many other Middle Eastern dishes, one of the most popular being their chicken shawarma. The tender chicken mixed with a healthy dose of shawarma seasoning pairs perfectly with the soft pita and the refreshing salads.
Speaking of pita, you haven’t had it until you have had it fresh. And that’s the only way Dahab serves theirs. Made in-house each morning, it’s always soft and doughy, way better than any cheap store-bought junk.
Dahab has two main options for serving their food. Want the classic? Go with the pita sandwich, which consists of hummus, Israeli salad, red cabbage salad, and a main item of your choosing, all stuffed within a pita. Feeling adventurous? Get a platter! A platter consists of your choice of four sides, with a pita included. My personal favorite side is the majadra, which is rice with lentils, onions, and lots of spices. Middle Eastern food is hard to find done well in the area, so having Dahab around is truly a blessing. This is especially true for Muslims, with it being one of the only places to find certified Halal chicken in the Oyster River area.
Another new restaurant in the area is Durham’s very own sushi place, Sushi-to-go! Located in the heart of downtown, known for their hard to beat prices and fast service, I think it’s definitely a worthwhile place to check out.
The store opened up only about three months ago, and I’ve already been three times. What keeps me coming back? The speed of service. Ever craving sushi at lunchtime? If you’re a junior or senior with privilege, those 35 minutes are the perfect amount of time to go get your fill. With a wide variety of rolls and bowls, as well as both cooked and raw options, there is something for everyone.
The poké bowl is probably the best bang for your buck item. Coming in at roughly $14 after tax, you get rice, refreshing veggies, a healthy serving of cubed fish of your choice [Salmon, Tuna (my favorite), and yellowtail], as well as spicy or teriyaki sauce. The fish is fresh in taste and color, and the rice is served warm which nicely contrasts with the rest of the dish, creating a dynamic that will keep you coming back for another bite.
Another dish I would recommend is the rainbow roll. At around $8 per roll, the amount of fish that you get is surprising. The sauce, avocado, and fish resting across the top create a fun yet delicate roll.
While I think that some of their warm dishes are lacking in comparison to their cold ones, I think that a trip to Sushi-to-go will brighten up anyone’s day.
While most of these restaurants are open year-round, there is one seasonal restaurant in particular that deserves some coverage. Lee Circle Grocer on Wheels, commonly known as LCG, has been serving up the community’s finest sandwiches for as long as anyone can remember.
If you’re looking for game day grub, LCG is your place. With a menu
packed with various burgers, hoagies, and chicken options, any party will be satisfied. LCG is a to-go only business and can see a lot of orders during the busy season, but never seems to have too long of a wait.
My personal favorite of theirs is their rodeo burger, consisting of a large patty, onion ring, barbecue sauce, and traditional burger toppings all in between a large brioche bun. Their burgers are always juicy, and the barbecue sauce gives the sandwich a more robust flavor. Coupled with the crunch of the onion rings and lettuce, this burger gets five big booms from me.
Another LCG classic is their buffalo wings. The main attraction of these wings is the sauce, which they never
skimp on. Get yourself some fries on the side to soak up that extra sauce and you are golden. The wings are always tender and fall off the bone, which I think should be standard for wings (but unfortunately, it’s not). Served with bleu cheese, an order of these might end up being less of a ‘for sharing’ appetizer.
This coming spring, LCG will open back up for business. You can find them across from the Market Basket plaza on route 125 approaching the circle.
While this guide is not comprehensive, and there are certainly more places to check out, these are my top choices for people looking to broaden their palette. Bon appetite!
Setting Up Success
Former ORHS students describe the transition to college.
written by AMELIA RURY visuals courtesy of CHARLIE WILLIAMS
n the date of publishing this article, I graduate from Oyster River High School (ORHS) in 57 days. 70 days after that, I’ll move into college.
I’ve spent the past four years, like many other ORHS students, packing my school schedule with classes that only increase in difficulty. Mostly, it’s because attending a four-year university was my long-term goal, a goal which I share with a large number of ORHS seniors, current and past.
While the purpose of high school isn’t to prepare every student for a four-year university, for those that do wish to attend, ORHS boasts a competitive amount of college preparatory courses and application assistance.
Realistically, I should be completely fine in 127 days. But truthfully, I spend so much time scrolling through my college’s course catalog and major requirements, wondering something that I’m sure so many other graduates
One option included for many ORHS classes is the dual enrollment program. Emily Jackman (‘22) said, “I took child development, and it just happened to offer dual credit from Manchester Community College, and the credit transfers when I got to college.” Jackman now attends the University of New Hampshire and plans to go into teaching.
Dual Enrollment allows students to receive credit for a course on both their ORHS transcript and the participating college, and some universities will allow it to be used towards that student’s graduating credit hours.
Will Graff (‘20), who went on to attend Keene State University, also took multiple of these dual enrollment classes. He said, “[Dual enrollment] saved me a ton of money. It just replaced my gen-ed credits.”
The Program of Studies details both classes which offer dual enrollment
Many of them use the course content of a typical freshman college course, which prepares a student for the pace and depth of a college course with the comfort of a familiar teacher and school.
Daiyao Zhang (‘17) said, “I took most of the STEM AP courses offered by ORHS, which helped get me up to speed for challenging college courses... In college, the courses will be way denser in material each semester and things move fast. Taking advantage of the slower pace of some of the high school courses to digest things really helped me succeed academically later.”
Zhang graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2021 with degrees in chemical engineering and biology and now is completing her fourth year at Stanford University to earn her PhD.
At these highly ranked universities, Zhang was surrounded by very
“I do think ORHS prepared me with a good work ethic,comparedtomyclassmatesnow.”
-MollySchmidt(‘24)
have too:
AmIreadyforthis?
I tracked down a few ORHS graduates who had gone on to pursue higher education to ask about the adjustment. Many of them told me about the options available to any ORHS student, specified in the program of studies to be college preparatory level.
and the 12 Advanced Placement (AP) classes available at ORHS. Depending on the score a student receives on the accompanying AP test, they may become eligible for credit at their university.
Beyond credit, most students who take AP classes think of them as an introduction to college level subjects.
high-level achievers. She said, “Going to ORHS encouraged me to measure my success based on my own individual gains rather than compare myself to my peers. My peers in college were all super smart and had all sorts of crazy achievements from high school that had the potential to make me feel insecure, but I left ORHS feeling like I re-
portant to hear. I found myself thinking about all my peers making their future plans. It’s hard not to compare, but from Zhang’s perspective on the other side, we’re all better off if we are proud of our own successes.
Molly Schmidt (‘24) attends Berklee College of Music and also finds herself surrounded by peers who specialized their interests in high school. “The biggest comparative difference is how well I’m able to plan my day and my time management. I do think ORHS prepared me with a good work ethic, compared to my classmates now. A lot
ting a jump start on their careers. She now attends Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, where most students are European. “In Germany, for example, you decide a career path super early and start specializing in high school. [In college] over here, you don’t have any common core curriculum, so I’ve only ever taken classes in my major,” said Berglund.
Berglund, like most ORHS students, prioritized getting a well rounded education, which paid off. She said, “How to properly write was something I really started to learn in high school,
an open mind and do a lot of exploration. Everything moves faster and potentially is more high stakes after high school, so take advantage of the great opportunities at ORHS and try lots of different things.”
Every student at a college or university comes from a different background, but it’s each high school’s responsibility to prepare these students for the change. ORHS has plenty of options to prepare students pursuing higher education. It just might be a matter of finding some opportunities and exploring what works for you.
The One The Only
Madeline Healey (‘25)’s art is around every corner. Even if you’ve never met her, you’ve seen it.
To see everything else we’ve been working on, visit
written by ELISE BACON visuals courtesy of MADDIE HEALEY
Do You Know What Your Kids Are Reading?
Instead of banning books, talk to your children.
writing and visuals by PAIGE STEHLE
Since I began this article in January, the New Hampshire House has passed HB 324. This legislation would make banning books from schools significantlyeasier,makinganalreadyimportantissue increasinglymoreurgent.
I implore parents to choose conversation over censorship.
When I was ten, if I walked into a library, I walked out with a stack of books so high I had to use my chin to keep them balanced. No book was safe from me. As long as it had a cover I liked and was preferably romance and/ or fantasy, it was mine.
All throughout my reading journey, and to this day, I’ve had my parents’ support, and I’ve always known I could go to them with questions about what I was reading. Around me, I kept hearing news of more books being banned and parents being mad at libraries for what their kids are reading, instead of actually talking to their child and using these experiences as learning opportunities. For me, I am grateful for three “inappropriate” books I read at age ten, and the experiences and conversations they fostered as opposed to their removal and restriction.
1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Yes, I read this at age ten. This fanta-
sy romance book series is infamous for its sexual scenes and was my first exposure to detailed sexual descriptions. Luckily, by ten I had already received the birds and the bees talk, so I wasn’t completely caught off guard. And, to be honest, I didn’t understand much of what was being described anyways.
However, I am grateful to have read this book at age ten. Once my mom realized what was in the book, she was shocked, but she didn’t forbid me from reading it. I realize I’m lucky in this way—most parents would take the book away from their child and blame the librarian for the book being in their kid’s hands. Instead, she told me to come to her with any questions and told me I could stop reading at any point if the story made me uncomfortable.
I read the book, and the rest of the series, and I loved it. It was full of the fantasy elements that I enjoyed in books, and had well-written characters I couldn’t help but feel strongly for. The explicit content didn’t ruin my reading
experience nor negatively affect me in any way I’ve noticed.
Before this book was more wellknown, it was provided at the Oyster River Middle School (ORMS) library. Before you get too upset, realize that the librarians were unaware of the content and expected it to be a fantasy book like any of the others. Once they were aware of what was inside, they pulled it from the shelves of their own decision.
“I have a professional responsibility to make sure that the materials that I provide to my patrons are appropriate for them and because I work with 9 to 14-year-olds, I have to keep that in mind,” says Nick Bellows, ORMS librarian. Bellows explained what was considered “not a good fit” for a middle school: gratuitous violence, gratuitous course language, gratuitous drugs and alcohol, and of course, gratuitous sex. He specified the adjective “gratuitous” before each word to emphasize that the amount of each of these things included in a book was unnecessary to
the plot and story.
Bellows’ philosophy is to never censor or restrict. The Oyster River High School (ORHS) library is similar in philosophy. “Whatever people want to check out is what they want to check out,” says assistant librarian Alyssa Boucher.
Once a student has checked out a book, it’s not up to the library to take it away from them, it’s up to the parents.
Bellows says, “I didn’t say this to her, but what I was saying in my head is ‘Yes.’”
As for the earlier question: “Why is this book in our library?” Well, I at age ten was ready to read the book. Because the ORMS library serves a fiveyear range of ages, many of the older kids are also ready to read the book.
Bellows says, “I didn’t buy this book for you [the student]. I’m not going to
icky. I put down the book and haven’t picked it up since.
There’s a lot of bad stuff in the world, and unfortunately, many children find this out the hard way. For me to find out about things through books, and not through personal experience, is important. A book is safe. And if it makes a child uncomfortable, kids can self-censor, just like I did when I was reading Story of a Girl. I stopped
“I’mtellingyounowit’syourresponsibilityto talktoyouradultsaboutwhatyou’rereading.”
-Nick Bellows, ORMS librarian
I’m glad my mom didn’t take A Court of Thorns and Roses away from me, and instead told me to come talk to her about it. However, some families handle these situations differently, like the time I recommended 13ReasonsWhy to a fellow ten-year-old.
2. 13ReasonsWhy by Jay Asher
My mom introduced me to this book. She believed that topics of mental health and suicide were important for me to know about, and I agree. I read it, enjoyed it, and when a friend asked for a book recommendation, I chose this book.
Now, should I have recommended this to a fellow fifth grader? Probably not. But it didn’t cross my mind that: “Just because I’m ready to read about these serious topics doesn’t mean everyone my age is.”
That night, my mom got a call from a mutual friend’s mom. Essentially, “Why did your daughter recommend that book? Why is that book in our library? We need to get it banned from the library.”
Safe in the assumption that our school library would never “ban” a book, my mom didn’t give this another thought, and neither did I.
Bellows recalls the conversation he had with this friend’s mom. She ended their talk with “So what, now I have to keep track of what my kid’s reading?”
not check it out to you because that’s not our philosophy. I’m telling you now it’s your responsibility to talk to your adults about what you’re reading.”
In my opinion, kids should read anything they’re ready to read, and if their parents don’t believe their child is ready to read a book, that’s their job to tell them that, not the library’s--just like my mom did when I found our copy of StoryofaGirl by Sara Zarr.
3. StoryofAGirl by Sara Zarr
My mom has only told me not to read a book twice in my life, both when I was ten. The first was the DUFF by Kodi Keplinger and the second was StoryofaGirl. I listened to her advice about the DUFF but did not listen about StoryofaGirl.
This book was on one of our bookshelves, and when I was ten, I was intrigued by the title. I like stories! I like girls! But my mom stopped me. She told me it was inappropriate for me, and that I would not like it. She said what was inside would make me feel icky.
But what did my mom know?? I wanted to read it, and her telling me not to made me want to read it more. So I did.
The first chapter shows a sexual interaction between a twelve-year-old and a seventeen-year-old. Unfortunately, my mom was correct. It did make me feel
reading without being forced to. Having moments like this was important to me: I was forming my moral development and realizing what I believed to be right or wrong.
“My students are pretty good at censoring themselves. If they read something and it makes them feel uncomfortable, they probably will just stop reading it, and I didn’t need to take the book away from them to prevent that from happening,” says Bellows.
There’s of course the argument that children shouldn’t be exposed to these topics at all, even if they can self-censor. So, one could tell their child they can’t read a book...but that didn’t work out so well for me when my mom told me I couldn’t read Story of a Girl. For a lot of things in life, telling a child or young adult they’re not allowed to do something will only make them want to do it more.
Tellingmenot to read it made me want to read it more.
Through my experiences reading these three “inappropriate” books, and through my conversations with two librarians in the district, I realized something. Libraries shouldn’t be restricting what kids read—that’s not their responsibility. It’s our parents’ responsibility to know, pay attention, and make informed decisions about what we’re reading.
In the age of digitality and social media, kids are learning about the horrors of the world much too quickly. There’s plenty of things parents can do to mitigate that: device locks, blocking
Wedon’tseeparentstellingmuseumstogetridof worksofartbecausethey’re not“appropriate”fortheir child,sowhyaretheyaskinglibrariestoremovebooks from their shelves?
sites, app limits, and restricting screentime. And, on the flip side, a parent can leave their child up to their own devices (pun intended) and let them peruse the internet as freely as they’d like. After all, their child will learn these things no matter what, right?
I believe the same applies to books. If parents don’t want their children reading about certain topics, that’s between them and their child, just like internet usage is. We don’t see parents telling museums to get rid of works of art because they’re not “appropriate” for their child, so why are they asking
libraries to remove books from their shelves because they’re not appropriate for their child?
In the case of the 13ReasonsWhy debacle, what Bellows said to that concerned mom is how parents need to be approaching what their children are reading: “Your daughter was unsure/uncomfortable with what she was reading, and she went to you and expressed that concern, and together you decided that this wasn’t a good fit for her. That’s what we want to happen.’”
Less is More
What effect does social media have on overconsumption?
writing and visuals by BELLA JACKMAN
Ineed that”--something I hear and say almost daily.But do I actually need it? Generally, the answer to that is “no”, but social media has made me feel like I do.
As someone who is easily influenced, I know how it feels to see something on social media and immediately want to buy it. But I think it needs to be stressed that this has become a problem, especially for young people.
Although overconsumption has been around for a long time, social media has made it easier to be persuaded into buying unnecessary things. For me, I realized that I could be buying things I need, or nothing at all, instead of buying something for the sole purpose of desire.
The impact that social media has on overconsumption is huge. There are examples of this with “trends” like Stanley cups and unnecessary skin care products. Now, I am not innocent in all of this, I own more water bottles than I care to admit. But I believe that owning up to the fact that social media has an effect on what you buy is a good first step in the right direction.
I think that the reason I first started buying things I saw on social media was because what I saw was not the authentic product, but the glorified version of it.
Video creators on these social platforms are making it even easier for people to buy things. Ways they do this are setting unrealistic expectations or even straight up lying about the products that they are promoting. These lies are easy to fall for especially for kids in the high school demographic. I personally have run into this as a consumer. One of
my favorite influencers came up on my feed one day with this shirt that I loved. I clicked on her LTK (link products shown), and that’s when I realized how easy influencers make it for people to give into overconsumption. There was a link to almost everything she used in her past 20 videos. But also, a link to her Amazon store front where there were hundreds of more products, most of them specifically geared towards teens and helping them “glow up.”
Eventually I found the shirt she had convinced me to look at buying. But I don’t know who would buy this shirt, because it was over a hundred dollars for a T-shirt that had a printed design on it.
This is where the saying “is it a need or a want?” really came into play for me. I knew that I didn’t need that T-shirt, but did I still look to buy it? Yes. After I saw the price, I asked myself: “do I want to pay for 2 months of gas with this money, or get this shirt when my closet doors are practically busting open with the amount of clothes I have?”
I think that is something that teens should look to do before buying something, if you ask yourself, “Do I need this?” I will guarantee you will find yourself buying a lot less.
A teenager who acknowledges how she overconsumes is Emma Storace (‘26). In the past month, Storace has bought 16 things that were not necessities. She recognizes some
thing may be wrong with not only her spending but her willingness to buy things she doesn’t need. “Influence comes very easy to me... I’m not scarce with spending my money,” said Storace.
I personally can agree with Storace about having that feeling of influence coming almost too easy, especially when it comes to social media.
On social media, another way that I have personally seen overconsumption is people showing off the amount of something they have, almost bragging about just how much they consume.
Seeing things like that can lead to people not only buying something they don’t need but buying an unnecessary amount of it. According to a Linked In article titled “The Psychology of Consumer Behavior: Understanding How Emotions Drive Purchasing Decisions,” the fear of missing out can trigger an emotional reaction and cause a consumer to buy something.
So not wanting to miss out on a trend like seeing who has the most lip balm can trigger someone to consume more to be a part of the craze, especially for teens. Teenagers are more impulsive than adults because their brains aren’t fully developed according to an American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry article titled “Teen Brain: Behavior, Problem Solving, and Decision Making.”
Social media has not only created a space where influencers can promote overconsumption, but a place where brands can as well. Brands like Ipsy have monthly packages filled with skincare and makeup products. Some of the reviews I have seen are people not getting the brands that have
been promoted, and those consumers throwing the products away, then waiting for next month’s package to arrive.
Most ads that I have seen for Ipsy are specifically geared towards teenagers. The videos I have seen promoting Ipsy are other teenage girls saying how amazing that months’ package was and to subscribe to get the next month’s shipment.
I had monthly packages coming to my house, but not for me. There are many other monthly subscription companies, but my sister subscribed to Ipsy for about 6 months before she realized what a waste it was.
Ipsy seemed to do the same thing each month, lie. They would promote on their social media of how this normally expensive product was going to be in their package that month, and it would show up each month to my doorstep, but that product wouldn’t be in there.
The teens that are subscribed to companies like this need to know when to stop. Saying no to buying something was a learning experience for me. But advice from a fellow teen who was in the process of doing just that would have been super helpful to me. Stor ace shared her advice of ways she can buy less of what she wants: “I could focus on looking at what I already have, how often I would use it, and how practical something is,” said Storace.
I think that is the key to not only the subscriptions but buying anything at all. As Storace said, “Focus on looking at how practical something is.” Is this thing you “need” practical, or do you just want it because your favorite influencer showed it in their most recent video?
So, the next time you pick up another water bottle or makeup product you can ask yourself: “Is it a need or a want?”
WRESTLING FOR VICTORY
It’s time to explore ORHS’s wrestling team of three.
written by PAIGE STEHLE visuals courtesy of interviewees
Over the clank of weights and the bass of the music playing in the Oyster River High School (ORHS) weight room, Mackenzie Macleod (‘28) heard the question that changed the trajectory of her high school experience.
“Oh, hi, Mackenzie. Do you want to do wrestling?” asked Carson Imperio (‘26).
Now consisting of Macleod, Imperio, and newest teammate Lucien Young (‘28), ORHS’s wrestling team, coached by Kimberly Strout, is best described as small but mighty. The team practices with Portsmouth High School (PHS)’s team, yet on tournament day, they fight for ORHS. Despite their size, this is a team like any
other, navigating dynamics, receiving beneficial coaching, and needing their community’s support.
Unlike other teams where PHS and ORHS students combine, like ClipperCats football and cheer, the ORHS wrestlers don’t compete with PHS, and are considered “independents.” “We wear our own singlets. Our singlets are like our representation of our pride. So when we put those on, we’re our own team,” says Imperio.
The ORHS wrestlers practice six days a week with PHS’s wrestlers, and travel with them to tournaments on Saturdays. “If we were to join Portsmouth’s team... we’d take up spots that Portsmouth kids could have,” says Macleod.
They aren’t the only independents— Dover High School and Saint Thomas Aquinas High School also have wrestlers who practice and travel with PHS.
“Portsmouth honestly does a really good job with integrating us into their practices and everything. We’ve practiced as a whole team. It’s not, ‘oh, you guys are independents, go away,’” says Macleod.
Although she’s the only girl on both the ORHS team and the PHS wrestling team, Macleod doesn’t mind. “Most of [the male wrestlers] are like, ‘hey, do you need help? I got you,’ and most of them are comfortable with wrestling girls.”
The fact that the team exists at all is thanks to Imperio, who re-formed the ORHS wrestling team his sophomore year, five years after it disbanded from its similarly small size (two members) in 2018.
The team of three as of 2025 has its benefits and detriments. “For us independents, it’s a lot more convenient than if we were on an actual team, because for us, we have three weight
MacleodandCoachKimberlyStroutholdingup4for4thplace!
classes right now that we’re wrestling at,” says Macleod.
However, this means that there can only be a maximum of five athletes on the ORHS wrestling team, because there’s not enough funding to have multiple wrestlers per weight class. “I want to let as many people wrestle as I can, but on the other side, I’m the captain and the coach told me it’s my job to find the right people,” says Imperio. Imperio seems to be successful at finding that. Although Macleod only joined the team about three months ago, midway through the season, she’s already taking online courses to prepare herself to become a captain of the team alongside Imperio. She’s also steadily learning the basics of wrestling, finding that some areas come more naturally to her than others. “My coach likes to say I’m in beautiful position, but I have no idea what I’m doing,” says Macleod.
Her coach, Strout, who has been coaching ORHS’s wrestling independents for the eleven years since her son Noah Strout (‘19) started wrestling for the school, has a unique coaching style that the wrestlers find beneficial. “Most teams, their coaches are coaching them while they’re on their mat. For Oyster River, our coach more so watches us and then coaches us off of the mat, which is more beneficial for how we wrestle as people,” says Macleod. Strout mentions how her coaching style is similar to one of a motivational speaker, which she once aspired to be. “[Other coaches would] say, ‘yeah, I just really like the way you coach with Noah,’ and they’re starting to be more inspirational coaches instead of the, ‘what, are you an idiot?’ That’s not me. I’m like, “breathe, you’ve got this, find it in your soul.”
She’s still plenty tough on her wrestlers, though. “I am hard, I push, I do drive. And I tell them that. I will push you as far as you wanna be pushed. But you know your body. So you need to stop when it’s enough,” says Strout.
This coaching has led Macleod to score 4th at the state championships for girls’ wrestling this year, and while Imperio is temporarily out of wrestling due to a knee injury, Strout’s coaching has led him to many victories as well. Young, who qualified for the team just in time for the final match of the season, won that first match as well.
Wrestling is a tough sport, and while the team is small, their passion makes them powerful. However, passion alone can’t maintain a team, and like every other sport, wrestling needs support. “I wish [we were] a team. It’s really hard going into some-
one [else]’s room and not having a say....I would love to see what kind of wrestlers I would produce in my [own] room,” says Strout.
Not only would having their own space benefit the wrestlers, but so would having more funding. “We pay for our singlets and traveling tournaments out of our pocket money. So, if we were to get either a booster club or a fundraising starter or get a sponsor to fund wrestling, and then we got more kids and mats and a place to wrestle, that would honestly benefit Oyster River wrestling a lot,” says Macleod. Without this funding, the team can’t grow past 5 wrestlers.
“As [the team has] grown, I definitely feel proud of it,” says Imperio. While wrestling season is over for the 24-25 school year, consider supporting the team so they can pick up even stronger this fall.
How did you get involved in Oyster River wrestling?
My son Noah Strout was a wrestler, and if I didn’t step up, he wouldn’t have been able to wrestle.. and that’s literally why I’m here today. He started wrestling around eight. Our elementary school didn’t have anything, our middle school didn’t have anything, so we’ve been independents all along, and then we got to high school, and then we found out we had to be independent, but part of being independent is we had to have a coach.
We had no coach. So I became the coach.
Did you have any wrestling experience or knowledge before you started coaching?
Just watching him wrestle--we went to many, many [wrestling arenas] with Noah.
I got to coach under Kay Lee Ray [Scottish female professional wrestler]. She did some classes with me, so I got to see what it was like to wrestle. That way I could feel some of the moves. I mean, I’ve been wrestling with Noah, but it’s not the same.
A
bus, because coaches sit in the front. My son Noah had to sometimes sit with me.
When Noah went to nationals, there was a hundred and fifty something other male coaches. I was the only female. They wouldn’t let me sit anywhere. They were leaning into the seats, putting their feet on the seat. Noah and I ate in the car on that one. I just said, “Noah, why don’t you and I just go sit in the car and eat?”
They’ve patted me on my head and said, “You got this one, girl.” Noah has watched a coach push me physically out of my seat and say, “You need a real coach for this?”
We’ve had to go through a lot. But years later, through [Noah’s] amazing talent, I have now been honored as a female to be in that spot, and they now treat me as an equal. So it has stopped—11 years later.
through and did not “act like a girl.”
What do you like the best about coaching?
I wanted to be a motivational speaker. And I believe when we’re on the mat, I can be that motivational speaker. I do feel like I’ve changed the world out there of wrestling [as a result of my coaching] because they now are making men change their disposition, being better behaved, having higher expectations.
They’ll say, “yeah, I just really like the way you coach with Noah,” and they’re starting to be more inspirational coaches instead of the, “what are you an idiot?” That’s not me. I’m like, “breathe, you’ve got this, find it in your soul.”
It’s a Boys’ World
conversation with Kimberly Strout, ORHS wrestling coach.
Interview conducted and transcribed by PAIGE
I’ve coached many different sports, and I did utilize a lot of other coaches to help me out throughout the years with Noah. But being a female coach has not been good.
Why has being a female coach not been good?
It’s not a female world. I don’t know if there’s any other female varsity coach [for a male-dominated sports team at Oyster River High School] other than me.
Females are allowed to be [coached] under the males. They have no problem if you [coach] all females and you’re a female.
[Other wrestling coaches have] told me that my seat is in the back of the
And now my wrestlers, like Mackenzie [Macleod], she just got fourth in the state for girls, as a freshman. Those other coaches can’t say that. I’d like to say it was because of my coaching, but really, I just have amazing athletes.
STEHLE
What made you stick with coaching wrestling after all of that?
I stuck through it for other women, and for my son. I mean, he wouldn’t been able to wrestle.
I didn’t want to mock [those coaches] back and didn’t want to create a scene, because then I’m not being any better than them. So I went through four years, and after those four years, I had another female.
I don’t know, you do it for the for the athletes. Because we don’t have a team, how do you say no to an independent? They wouldn’t be able to wrestle if they didn’t have someone backing them. So, that’s why I stay.
Dover also has a mother [coaching her son], but because of me has been able to come up free of all this. She’s been able to walk in, go into that corner, and nobody gives her a hard time. I’m very thankful that I stuck it
I do try to coach to the athlete. I don’t care if the athlete loses every single match. I will still be the same coach, whether you lose or win, just as excited. I know you’ve trained so hard, and sometimes your best just is not good enough on that day.
I do coach differently than all the other coaches. I will say that I am hard, I push, I do drive. And I tell them that. I will push you as far as you wanna be pushed. but you know your body. So you need to stop when it’s enough. I had my son, an elite athlete going off to nationals. Had I never pushed him, he would have never gotten to his level. [All my athletes] were amazing, and I remember every one of their matches, and we celebrated. That was their best, which to me was that was good enough, because they gave it their all, they tried so hard. They came off that mat sweating, saying “Did you see me, Coach?”
And I’m like, “Yeah, I saw you.”
The Christmas Tournament
A vlog style video following the 13th annual girls baskeball Christmas Tournament filmed by OLIVIA ANDERSEN
School Superlatives
Exploring my experiences at different schools superlative style.
writing and visuals by OLIVIA ANDERSEN
As both a field hockey and basketball player for Oyster River High School, I have had the opportunity to travel to many different schools in the state for away games. While visiting these schools I’ve experienced many memorable things. Since my time exploring other schools is coming to an end, I’ve decided to break down my experiences yearbook style with these school superlatives.
Best Christmas Spirit
Nashua South High School
I have been to Nashua South three times, each for their basketball preseason tournament. This year they had a major improvement: they hired a Santa that you could take pictures with in between games. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture, but my teammate Ashling Ferris (‘28) and her family did. It was also a Christmas miracle that their concession stand included a variety of Crumbl Cookies.
Most Likely to be an Adventure
Merrimack Valley High School
Merrimack Valley...where do I start. Sophomore year, my team traveled there for basketball, and I thought it would be another normal game. This was not the case. Right before the game, while getting ready in the locker room, we heard screams from the hallway. A girl on the Merrimack Valley team had cut her finger off on a locker... I assume the girl went to the emergency room, and we played the game as scheduled. We ended up losing that game on a buzzer beater. After the game, when we returned to the locker room, we discovered that someone had pooped in the urinal...this was not there before the game. Two years later, when we returned to Merrimack Valley, a girl tried to fight my teammate in the handshake line...lucky for me, I will not have to go back there.
Best Fundraisers
Bishop Brady High School
The first time my basketball team went to Bishop Brady, they hosted a Chuck-a-Duck fundraiser, where you purchase rubber ducks and throw them to the center of the court. Whoever’s duck lands the closest wins. The boys’ basketball team played Bishop Brady right after our game, so we had the opportunity to participate in the fundraiser during the boys’ halftime. My teammate Caitlin Klein (‘25) threw her duck the closest and won the cash prize of 18 dollars. “It was like the cherry on top,” says Klein, “it finished off an already great night, and I had money to buy food after the game.” Thats a pretty good bonus after taking the dub.
Most iPad Kids
The Derryfield School
Derryfield is quite possibly the most modern school I’ve been to. The lobby of the school featured two foosball tables, a ping pong table, and two high-tech vending machines filled with snacks and drinks. However, what surprised me the most was the amount of iPad kids in the lobby. I don’t know why all these kids were hanging out in the lobby at 5 o’clock on their iPads, but you do you I guess.
Best Hot Dogs
John Stark Regional High School
John Stark gets infinite points for their incredible hot dog cart, which my field hockey team sold out when we played there this year. When we traveled there for basketball this season, it was an adventure. John Stark has a nice gym and locker room, but they definitely lost points when I went to the bathroom in the locker room during warmups and came outside the stall to see a boy in the locker room. We picked up our first win of the season here with NH Sports Page in attendance, so overall, going to John Stark was a good experience, despite my minor setback.
Best Place for Pre Game Yoga
Souhegan High School
When I walked into Souhegan High School, the first thing I noticed was the layout. Souhegan is shaped like an X with a giant circle in the middle. When you first walk into the school you notice two wide spiral staircases on opposite sides of the center that has four hallways branching out from it. The second floor center was the perfect place to do pregame yoga. My team and I gathered around and did various yoga poses. Vivian O’Quinn (‘25) says “Yoga is great to do before a game, it helps us all lock in and get in a good mindset.” Unfortunately, the yoga did not help me as I dropped 0 points this game.
Best Lost and Found
Hollis-Brookline High School
My sophomore year, my basketball team travelled to Hollis-Brookline for the first round of playoffs. Unfortunately, the game did not go my team’s way, but despite this we were able to leave with one win: the Hollis-Brookline lost-and-found had a very good shoe selection. My teammate who graduated that year “borrowed” a pair of Nike Air Forces. She was later seen wearing them at school.
Friendliest Fan
Milford High School
The only time I went to Milford for basketball was my senior year. The opposing student section wasn’t very friendly but there was one man who made up for them. While watching the JV game, there was a friendly older man standing near us. While we chatted we learned that he was both a Milford and UNH alum, so he knew a lot about Oyster River. He was very nice except for the fact that he accused me (a shooting guard) of being the team’s center...later on, after we had won the game, the Milford Mystery Man sang a song for the seniors on the team to “remember for our 5-year reunion.” Despite his request I do not remember the song. The man also attended the semi-finals, and after we won, sang us another song. Unfortunately, I do not remember this song either.
Best Energy
Coe-Brown Northwood Academy
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I love playing at Coe-Brown. The Coe-Brown fans know how to bring the energy. Their band is unmatched, and it helps add fuel to the rivalry bringing both the fans and athletes’ emotions up. Playing a game at Coe-Brown is so fun just because of all the energy in that gym. It is so loud in there that you can barely talk to your teammates on the court. Before our game against Coe-Brown last year, my team tried to lean into the music from the band and have a dance battle with Coe-Brown in the hallway before warm-ups. Sadly Coe-Brown did not want to participate. I am extremely disappointed I could not play at Coe-Brown this year.
This concludes my superlatives for other schools in the state. If you are interested in learning more about some of the schools I explored, check out this QR code which includes a very detailed tour of The Derryfield School and Bishop Brady High School.
A tour of The Derryfield School and Bishop Brady High School
What’s In Your Bag?
In this collection of 11 photos, Oyster River High School students and teachers were asked, “What’s in your bag?”
Twriting and visuals by ANNIE
GRAFF
ake a moment and imagine what the bag of a typical highschooler at ORHS would look like. Probably a mess of papers, several oversized binders, and notebooks with every page filled with indecipherable handwriting. Some people will have their front pockets full of snacks, an extra hairbrush, and lip balms that accumulate because they keep forgetting how many they already have in there. Their side pocket holds the water bottle they’ve had since middle school, the other side a tangle of jewelry and yesterday’s gum wrappers. The average objects that take up space in people’s lives may seem mundane to us, but in reality, they are a reflection of our time and our community. 50 years from now they will become an airtight box containing a breath of what it was like to be us. The following 11 pictures are just a small snapshot of it.
Maerwyn Holden-Mount (‘26)
Dariia Konashuk (‘26)
Pictured left to right: laptop, charger, three folders, pile of trash, iPhone, binder with a mint on top, five magnets, two nursing textbooks, eight lip products, a bag of hygienic items, five pencils, a toy butterfly, wet wipes, a tiny lighted mirror, a portable charger, Airpods, an index card, a coke, and Holden-Mount’s backpack.
Holden-Mount is taking a challenging and involved nursing class through the Career Technical Education (CTE) program. As a student that can sometimes have trouble focusing in class, a fidget like magnets are a must have. “I get bored in class and a lot, so I need something to do,” she states. The small pile of trash and the singular mint were both retrieved from the deepest corners of Holden-Mount’s bag, and both she admitted have been in there since before last year. Otherwise, Holden-Mount seems to retain quite a lot from her nursing classes with a bag dedicated to hygiene products and her own designated box of wet wipes.
Pictured left to right: a computer charger, a phone charger, a phone charging cord, a laptop, an eraser, a small purple pom pom, a piece of candy, a lip product, a hair tie, two discarded pieces of paper, a pack of gum, four pencils and a pen, the code to her locker on a small slip of paper, a school calculator, a Redbull, a deodorant, a piece of trash, two folders, old math homework on top, and a notebook.
When unpacking her bag Konashuk was pleasantly surprised by a small slip of paper with her locker number and code written on it. “It’s the number for my locker which I couldn’t find since like the beginning of the year.” This begs the question of what could possibly be in Konashuks locker, but that may be better left unknown. From what her backpack says, it’s probably a lot more math homework.
River Walker (‘25)
Pictured left to right: two binders, a folder, a quarter, a red marker, a notebook, two piles of paper, a laptop, and an iPhone.
Walker didn’t have much to say about the contents of his bag, but when asked how he liked to organize it he gave some useful insight: “You put ninety percent of each topic in the binder and the rest just goes on the bottom [of the backpack],” states Walker. “I’ve had this backpack for like six years. It’s fire,” he adds. In his final year of high school Walker has learned the art of only bringing the necessities. Teachers may disagree with the organization system, and it’s doubtful how much math he is able to do with a Crayola marker, but at least Walker can treat himself to something nice with that quarter. Whether the backpack is, in fact, fire, is still up for debate.
Natalie Fernald (‘25)
Grace Royal (‘26)
A laptop, an Owala water bottle, assorted papers, thirty-one gum wrappers, a pile of index cards, Airpods, a late pass, keys with a wallet attached, a calculator, a laptop charger, a snack, two late slips, a pencil bag, a pen, an eyelash curler, hand sanitizer, eight lip products, another late pass, floss, mouth wash, deodorant, two notebooks, and two folders.
The astounding thirty-one gum wrappers in Royal’s bag won’t win her any awards, but she certainly has more than anyone else. Royal also had a few surprises in her bag including a Nature Valley Bar that she’s not capable of eating, “No, I really don’t know whose that is, but I can’t eat that, so I don’t know why it’s in my bag.” As well as three tardy slips that Royal was apparently expecting more of: “Three tardy slips... I’m a little surprised there’s only three,” she says.
Pictured left to right: Nine pens and pencils, fourteen lip products, a bracelet, a pad, a brush with the handle broken off, a notebook open to Fernald’s artwork, assorted hair ties and clips, a cough drop, a lollipop, a range of folders, notebooks, and papers, on top of them a smashed-up pencil sharpener, an iPad, and a pile of discarded papers. On the wooden ledge: a drink, a pumpkin muffin with chocolate chips, and Fernald’s tote bag.
The most eye-catching part of this assembly is immediately Fernald’s artwork, seen in the open notebook but also found on a piece of scrap paper. “My notebook is a mix of notes and doodles... I don’t go a day without drawing. My favorite thing is definitely my notebook. I can’t go to school without it.” As well as her notebook, Fernald can’t seem to live without lip-gloss: “I need to have something on my lips at all times, but I keep forgetting what I have in my bag, so I keep putting more and more in there.”
Skylar Delage (‘26)
Amber O’Quinn
Pictured left to right: some trash, four mascaras, an eyelash curler, a lip product, a Coconut Redbull in a plastic bag, a hairbrush, a Sharpie, a perfume, an eyebrow brush, a bag full of assorted hygienic products, a hair clip, two sets of car keys, a stack of index cards, three packs of gum, three tampons and a pad, five notebooks, a binder, a laptop and charger, and Delage’s backpack. Laughing while pulling out the plastic bag from her small front pocket ,Delage excitedly revealed her ice-cold Coconut Redbull. “I got this Redbull this morning at 6:45 am,” states Delage. Early mornings like the one Delage had experienced that day would leave anyone short on time. “I forgot to do my makeup this morning, so I brought these.” states Delage pointing out her four mascaras. As for the gum, it’s there as a comfort against what terrifies Delage most. “My biggest fear is having bad breath, so we have a lot of gum choices.”
The excess of items might take up space, but anything’s worth those couple extra minutes of sleep for someone like Delage, who has to rise much earlier than most to make it to her CTE class. For her, it’s much more convenient to do mascara on-the-go.
Pictured left to right: A half-eaten chocolate bar, three pairs of sunglasses, a comb, two receipts, two hair ties, two clips, a handmade envelope reading “Mrs. O’Quinn” containing a student’s Valentine’s Day card for her, a moisturizer, a snack, nail clippers, a pen, a Band-Aid, a necklace, hand lotion, her wallet, five lip products, and O’Quinn’s purse.
Not everyone will find three pairs of sunglasses practical, but O’Quinn is firm on their necessity. She states, “I never know which ones I feel like wearing.” The glasses are there to uphold the mysterious vibe. For her several lip products she says, “[My favorite is] my Burts Bees ChapStick, I use it all the time.” Although O’Quinn may love her ChapStick, she’ll find herself far outshined by Andy Piper (26’).
Andy Piper (‘26)
Pictured left to right: two highlighters, three pencils, a late pass, two iPhone chargers, a wallet with air pods on top, car keys, two hand sanitizers, a mini deodorant, a tiny bottle of Advil, a lip product, an iPad and headphones, a small bag full of ChapSticks, a binder, a pencil bag, a laptop and charger, two hand lotions, a Tide stick, two folders, a bag, two notebooks, a calculator, and a mini umbrella.
Atreyu Kleczek (‘25)
Pictured left to right: a miniIkea bag, and 11 Burts Bees chap sticks. Although Fernald beats Piper out with the lip products, Piper’s commitment to the brand must be applauded. “That initially started as a weird niche of mine... then I bought the mini-Ikea bag, and I put all my ChapSticks in there.” ChapSticks aside, Piper has other favorite objects, “I like my Airpod headphones, and I like my iPad. My sister double-dog-dared me to buy my iPad because she was like, ‘You’re broke, you can’t buy it,’ so I impulse bought it to prove a point.” Piper runs a tight ship with his backpack, with everything having its own spot. “I want to be aesthetic with my life and my bag,” states Piper.
Pictured left to right: four pens, a calculator, an iPhone charging cord, a pack of cards, a late pass, a TechDeck, a laptop charger, pieces of paper, more paper, a laptop underneath a folder, a notebook, a wooden coaster reading “Nine Months” on one side and “Ten Months” on the other.
Kleczeks’s bag, although containing fewer items than most students, held the most variety in objects, ranging from a wooden coaster with odd writing to a Techdeck. “I have no idea why that’s in my bag,” states Kleczek, addressing the coaster, although he probably could have been talking about a few of the objects. Kleczek didn’t have much else to say about his backpack, and when the interview concluded he promptly stuffed everything back into the bag without a second thought.
Keira Ferris (‘25)
Pictured left to right: Her backpack, three notebooks, three folders, an Owala water bottle, a roll of Hubba Bubba bubble gum, a MacBook, a hand sanitizer, three lip products, a mascara, a Kneedo, a computer charger cord and block, air pods, five pencils, two pencil sharpeners and a pencil bag. Compared to other students, Ferris had a sparse and organized bag, yet she still gives a clear picture of herself through her more personalized items. “My favorite thing is probably my Kneedo.” The item count may be lower than other bags, but it’s clear that Ferris has all she needs for a regular school day, keeping only the necessities such as Touchland Hand sanitizer or Hubba Bubba bubblegum. Sometimes less is more.
Every bag gives a small peek into the lives and minds of the people at ORHS. What can’t they go a day without? What goes unnoticed or forgotten at the bottom of their bag? What could be the cumulative number of lip products just in this school? Among these 10 people there were: fifty-one lip products including lipsticks, glosses, ChapSticks, and Aquaphor; an estimated thirty-seven loose pens pencils and markers; six late passes, and an estimated 9 piles of trash including candy wrappers, gum wrappers, homework, receipts, random pieces of paper; and a smashed-up pencil sharpener.
What’s in your bag?
Musique et Productivité
Does listening to music really help you study?
written by JAHRIE HOULE visuals courtesy of COLIN CARON
It’s 5:57 am. Still groggy, I open my laptop, bitter with resentment for my past self for leaving my homework for a Tuesday morning. Before I so much as open my Word document, my fingers instinctively navigate to Spotify. As the familiar sound of my Indie Hits playlist washes over me, I begin to type.
I’ve become an increasingly avid music listener throughout my high school years, and recently I’ve noticed that I am now completely dependent on music in a motivational sense. I’ve found it’s become difficult to start an assignment or read a book without background noise.
This is a common experience for many students at Oyster River High School (ORHS), but it has led me to question my own study tactics. Does music really help me concentrate, or does it just make studying a little more fun? How can I listen to music without it being detrimental to my productivity? And, at what point must I sacrifice my sanity for efficiency when working?
As soon as I began asking these questions on the internet, I quickly realized I was not the first one to do so. The connection between music and productivity, specifically in students, is a heavily researched topic. According to a study done by Research Gate, TheEffectofMusiconProductivity,of the 200 students surveyed, 96% agreed that music helped improve their focus with the remaining 4% saying that it’s distracting.
But, while many students may believe (or want to believe) that their favorite tunes help them study, other researchers claim that certain types of music have been scientifically proven to hinder academic performance rather than enhance it.
The general consensus of most pub-
lic research I could find on this topic, including the forementioned study and others such as Harvard Business Reviews’ Can Music Make You More Productive?, is that instrumental or non-lyrical music has been shown to help improve student’s concentration, while more mainstream music with understandable lyrics only presents a distraction.
Nathan Grove, a social studies teacher at ORHS, uses this information to back up his answer when students ask to listen to music in class. “The literature is pretty straightforward that if you are listening to music with lyrics in your own language your brain is going to be distracted,” he says.
However, many students don’t want to give up their favorite study songs in favor of strictly instrumental music, which may not be as enjoyable. Keely Duggan (‘28) shares that pop music has improved her focus in the past. “In some classes, it helps me stay alert and focus on my own work... it distracts me from people talking around me,” she says.
Jimmy Kim (‘26) has a similar opinion, stating that the genre or style of music has no effect on his ability to concentrate in class. He says, “It keeps me engaged while bored, so I’m still focusing on my [work].”
However, despite students’ certainness that they can be productive with their own music, teachers often request that students choose strictly instrumental music or simply play music for the class to listen to collectively
during a test or work session. If you’re anything like me and don’t find Mozart or instrumental Taylor Swift very intellectually stimulating, you might struggle to see the benefits of these practices.
While I typically prefer my own study music, I will admit it’s easy to become distracted, especially when listening to songs I know well or can recite the lyrics to. Occasionally, when tracks like these come on, I find myself focusing more on the words in the song rather than the words on my computer, which is not ideal, especially when I’m in a time crunch the period before an exam.
Grove presents a unique solution to this problem. He recommends that students who want to improve their focus but refuse to commit to classical music should choose songs written in another language. “If you are listening to music in your non-primary language and you don’t understand [the words] you’re listening to, it’s basically the same as listening to [instrumental] music,” he says.
Madi Gorton (’26) attests to this theory. An avid K-pop listener, she often listens to Korean music while studying. “[That way], I can’t sing along to it in my head,” she says. “When I’m listening to English music, I’m more focused on the lyrics and words versus K-pop when I don’t really know what they’re saying.”
I tested this method out myself while writing this article. While I didn’t notice any revolutionary changes in my productivity, I did realize that similarly to Gorton, I was focused less on subconsciously deciphering the lyrics which I couldn’t understand. In doing this, I also learned that I have an preference for French music.
While I was pleasantly surprised by the effectiveness of this strategy and would recommend others try it, I understand that it is by no means a replacement for comfort music.
Sometimes, the familiarity of my favorite songs, if anything, motivates me to get to work, which is something I’m willing to exchange for a slight decline in efficiency.
